


The Netflix Files

by starbuckscully



Category: Superfiles, Supernatural, The X-Files
Genre: Bees, Fluff, M/M, Parallels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2013-08-09
Packaged: 2017-12-22 22:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/918968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbuckscully/pseuds/starbuckscully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is feeling a bit down and out when he moves into the Men of Letters bunker, so Dean introduces him to the human cure-all for depression -- marathoning tv series on Netflix. As he makes his way through nine seasons of a paranormal investigative duo, however, Cas finds more relevance to his life than he had anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Netflix Files

When Cas first moves into the bunker, he spends most of his time lying about doing nothing in particular. No amount of Dean chiding him to stop feeling sorry for himself or Sam urging him to take on some healthy hobbies makes a difference. The weight of everything he’s done crushes him, and it’s all he can do to get out of bed most mornings.

One afternoon as he’s slumped over on the couch, staring blankly at some game show program on the television, Dean stomps over and blocks his view.

“At least turn off this garbage!” he bellows. “We have Netflix, you know!”

Cas lifts his eyes to Dean’s slowly, saying nothing.

“Ugh, why d’ya have to look like such a kicked puppy?” Dean grumbles. “Move over.”

He pushes Cas up and over to one corner of the couch. Dean digs around under the cushions till he comes up with one of the remote controls. After some fiddling and swearing, he lands on the right sequence of buttons to bring up the Netflix screen.

“Ah now that’s what I’m talking about!” Dean beams as he lands on a title that clearly pleases him.

Cas reads off the screen: _The X-Files._ A tall, handsome man and a shorter, redheaded woman in suits stare back at them seriously.

“I used to watch this show all the time if I was sick or bored or babysitting Sammy,” Dean continues. “Most of the time I had to catch whatever rerun was on cable, but you’re lucky you get to watch the whole thing in order! Plus, you don’t have to wait for new episodes. Man, the end of season six was killer…”

A hazy expression comes over Dean’s face as he looks off into the distance, remembering something.

“You sure you don’t want to set him up with your actual favorite, Dr. Sexy?” Sam calls out from the other side of the room.

“Shut up!” Dean yells as he snaps back to the present. “Besides, they don’t have it on instant view,” he mutters more quietly.

Dean presses the remote into Cas’s hand and gets up to go back to his business. Cas looks at it for a long moment then hits play.

~*~

Three weeks later, Cas sighs as the screen fades to dark at the end of the second X-Files movie _, I Want to Believe._ The realization that there is no new episode to watch, no third movie to put on, hits him like a wall of bricks. What now? He looks around to find Dean or Sam, eager to talk to someone about what he just watched.

Dean strolls toward him from the kitchen, a beer in each hand. He gives one to Cas and settles next to him on the couch.

“What’d you think?” Dean asks.

“The first movie was superior in quality,” Cas answers honestly. “But it was gratifying to view the mature relationship of Agents Mulder and Scully.”

“Yeah, I know!” Dean agrees heartily. “Can you believe it took them _seven years_ to get together?”

Sam comes over and takes a seat in an armchair. He rolls his eyes like he’s heard all of this too many times before.

“Well, it was a complicated interpersonal situation,” Cas says somewhat defensively. “Agent Scully was originally assigned to monitor Agent Mulder.”

“Yeah, but they got over that in the first year!” Dean protests. “She ditched the Feds and joined up with Mulder ‘cause she knew his cause was the right one.”

Cas nods, acknowledging the point.

“It’s kinda romantic, actually,” Dean adds and takes a swig of his beer.

“But their mission still came first,” Cas continues. “And the closer they got to one another, the more their enemies could use them against each other.”

“Yeah, true,” Dean replies. “Like that time Scully got abducted by aliens and Mulder carried her necklace everywhere till he got her back.” He fingers his coat absently.

“Are you kidding me?” Sam interrupts. “There’s no excuse - they were just scared to admit their feelings!”

“Hey! Don’t talk about Mulder and Scully like that!” Dean protests. “They were best friends! They had a lot to lose if things didn’t, you know, turn out.”

“Dean’s right,” Cas chimes in. “What if that bee hadn’t been there - ”

“Goddamn bee,” Dean mutters.

“And they kissed and got together,” Cas continues. “But then Mulder decided he was in love with Diana Fowley after all? How could they work together after that?”

Sam shrugs. “That’s a risk you take.”

“Pfft, I don’t think so!” Dean scoffs. “After all they went through –at each other’s throats at the beginning to being the one person they could trust, through betrayals and losing one another and thinking they’re dead to coming back together again... they couldn’t just unsettle everything like that! They need each other too much.”

Cas nods emphatically in agreement.

“Whatever you say, Dean,” Sam says. “But remember how pissed you were that it took forever? Every time they seemed so close, every time it looked like they were about to kiss and Mulder went for the forehead instead of the lips or there was some contrived interruption? You were raging at the tv – I remember it.”

“Yeah okay,” Dean admits. “It was just so obvious that they were in love with each other.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what that’s like,” Sam says sarcastically and stands up. As he walks back to the hallway, Dean turns to Cas, biting his lip.

“What do you think? Were they missing out for years and years? Was it really that clear all along?” Dean asks.

“Well… I think they had their reasons,” Cas says carefully. “The timing had to be right.”

Dean leans imperceptibly closer.

“But it was worth the risk in the end, right? I mean, you saw how it all turned out,” Dean continues, swallowing.

“Yes,” Cas agrees. “They were stronger, _better_ together.”

Cas feels himself falling toward Dean. The personal space between them is disappearing.

“They were each other’s constants, their touchstones,” Dean says softly.

“One in five billion,” Cas whispers. He looks at Dean’s lips and decides to close the rest of the distance.

Just then a sharp pain pricks his neck.

“Ow!” he yelps and slaps a hand to his neck.

“Are you okay??” Dean asks frantically. He jumps up and pulls Cas’s hand away to get a look.

For a moment Dean is silent. Then he convulses into hysterical laughter.

“What? What is it?” Cas demands.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean exclaims between guffaws.

“What?”

Dean opens his hand to show him a small yellow jacket wriggling in its post-sting death throes.

“How - how did a bee get in here?” Cas asks, amazed.

“I don’t know, man, I don’t know.” Dean slaps him on the shoulder and stands up. With a sense of loss, Cas realizes the moment is over.

“Well, now that your show is over, how about you help out some around here?” Dean asks.

Cas thinks about it for a minute. He is feeling much better now, actually. And who knows what the next few seasons - uhh, years - might hold.

“Okay,” he says. He gets up to join Dean.

Dean grins at him. “Let’s get some ice for that bee sting first.”


End file.
